In Short
In Short
In Short
Wind Turbines for China
The world of energy is alive and pulsing. From school projects
to continental power schemes, here is an overview.
“Green” Production Plant in Berlin for
Gas Turbine Components
On May 28, Siemens opened a new
3000-square-meter facility in Berlin to
manufacture blades and vanes for the
eco-friendly gas turbines the company already produces in its existing
plant in that city. On hand to help celebrate this expansion were Siemens
CEO Peter Loescher and Germany’s
Minister for Economics and Technology,
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. The new
facility, which adds 200 jobs to the
2,800 Siemens already supports in its
gas turbine operations in Berlin, will
produce approximately 14,000 vanes
and blades annually. Its energy-saving
design has earned the EU’s “Green
Building” label. The Berlin plants comprise Siemens Energy’s Competence
Center for the production of high-efficiency gas turbines with ratings up
to 375 MW. Gas turbines contribute
nearly a quarter of Siemens’ total revenue, making Siemens the world’s
leading green infrastructure provider.
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (left)
and Peter Loescher (center) at the start
of the new Berlin production facility.
Work safety is also an issue
in the energy workplace.
62 Living Energy · Issue 1/ November 2009 · www.siemens.com/energy/living-energy
as active support by employees and
management alike.
Siemens Energy has been very diligent with EHS issues, with many work
safety matters having already been
addressed and implemented in the
organization and additional measures
currently in progress. EHS statistics
are continuously compiled for all of
Siemens’ new-build power plant sites,
and the resulting summary is made
available for specific regions and areas
of activity. For example, the Lost Time
Accident Frequency Rate (number
of injuries resulting in at least one
day of lost time × 100,000 : number of
hours worked) for Siemens Energy’s
new-build power plants worldwide was
0.19 in 2008.
Photos: Martin Mustermann
More secure, more sustainable, and
safer – expectations for the energy
workplace at construction sites are
higher than ever today, reflecting
changing attitudes around the world
on how business in general is to be
done. Environmental, health and safety
(EHS) issues concretely reflect one
aspect of this change. Customer EHS
awareness is continually on the increase, while at the same time a transformation in business cultures is
under way.
Work safety requires conscientious
implementation of EHS issues,
processes and regulations, as well
Photos: Siemens
A Safer Energy Workplace
Siemens is expanding its global manufacturing network for wind turbines
and is building a new production facility in Lingang New City in Shanghai.
By establishing this new rotor blade
and nacelle plant, the company is further strengthening its environmental
portfolio. This new facility is scheduled to take up operation in the second
half of 2010, initially with 400 employees. The wind turbines produced in
Shanghai will be for the Chinese market and for export. Siemens is investing more than 60 million euro in
setting up this new location.
“Siemens is expanding its commitment to environmentally friendly
energy technology in China with this
new wind turbine production facility
in Shanghai,” declares Wolfgang
Dehen, CEO of the Siemens Energy
Sector and member of the managing
board of Siemens AG on the occasion
of the laying of the cornerstone in
Shanghai on May 22, 2009. “China
could soon become the largest wind
energy market in the world, and with
our new production facility in Shanghai
we are establishing an excellent starting position for meeting the growing
demand of this exciting market.
In addition, we are also rigorously
advancing the internationalization
of our manufacturing network for
wind turbines to optimally meet the
needs of our customers in Asia, Europe
and America.” The new production
site will have a total space of 180,000
square meters and be situated at an
excellent location with regard to shipping and traffic facilities, being in the
direct vicinity of the Yang Shan deepsea harbor. Siemens will initially produce blades for 2.3- and 3.6-MW wind
turbine plants. These blades will be
produced using the IntegralBlade process patented by Siemens, without
any glued joints that are susceptible
to damage. Wind turbine plant nacelles
will also be produced at this new plant.
A nacelle is mounted on the top of the
tower and supports the rotor as well
as encloses a wind turbine plant’s
major components for electric power
generation; these include the gearbox,
the drive train, and the control electronics.
The production capacity for the new
facility is initially planned at 500 MW
annually. The first wind turbine blades
and nacelles are scheduled to leave
the plant in time for the Expo 2010
international exhibition in Shanghai.
Siemens has already reserved additional space in Lingang for potential
expansion of this production facility,
Wolfgang Dehen,
CEO Energy Sector
and Member of
the Managing
Board, Siemens AG
(center), and
Richard Hausmann,
CEO of Siemens
North East Asia
and Siemens Ltd.
China (at far left),
with customers at
the opening ceremonies of the new
wind turbine production facility in
Shanghai.
The future is bright for wind power
technology in China.
however. Since Siemens entered the
market for wind turbines through the
acquisition of the Danish company
Bonus Energy in 2004, it has substantially expanded its worldwide fabrication capacities. Plans for building of
a new facility for wind turbine plants
in Hutchinson, Kansas (USA), were
just recently announced by Siemens.
Siemens also recently established
rotor blade fabrication facilities in Fort
Madison, Iowa (USA), and in Engesvang,
Denmark. The Danish locations Brande
and Aalborg have additionally been
expanded, and new research and development centers have also been set
up in Germany, Holland, the UK, the
USA and Denmark. The number of
Siemens employees involved in the
wind energy business has grown from
800 in 2004 to currently over 5,500.
This corresponds to an increase of
over 680 percent.
Wind turbine plants are an important
component of the Siemens environmental portfolio, which earned the
company revenues of nearly 19 billion
euro in fiscal 2008, roughly a quarter
of Siemens’ total revenues.
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In Short
In Short
New Wind
Turbine
Production
Facility for
Kansas
E-Mobility Roadshow Kickoff in Berlin
At a kickoff event on July 15 in Berlin,
Siemens Energy and RWE announced
their cooperation in electric vehicle
technology. Siemens is not only participating in the E-Mobility Roadshow
but is also a partner in implementing
the infrastructure for electric cars.
As a mobile electric storage system,
“Filling up” an electric car.
Hywind: Installation of First
Floating Wind Turbine
Siemens and StatoilHydro have
installed the world’s first floating
wind turbine. The turbine is located approximately 12 kilometers
southeast of Karmøy in Norway at
a water depth of about 220 meters.
The Hywind project was developed by StatoilHydro, and Siemens
supplied the SWT-2.3-MW wind
turbine with a rotor diameter of
82 meters. Over the next two years
the floating wind turbine will be
tested to provide a thorough analysis of this innovative concept.
Hywind is designed to be suitable
for installation in water depths between 120 and 700 meters, which
could open up many new possibilities for offshore wind turbine
technology. Existing offshore turbines are mounted firmly on the
seabed. However, foundations
become very expensive at water
depths of more than 30–50 meters.
This can limit the large-scale exploitation of offshore wind power
particularly in countries with little
or now shallow water areas near
the coastline.
The wind turbine supplied by
Siemens is a SWT-2.3-82 with a
65-meter hub height. StatoilHydro
is responsible for the floating structure, which consists of a steel floater filled with ballast. This floating
element extends 100 meters beneath the surface and is fastened
to the seabed by three anchor
wires. StatoilHydro and Siemens
have jointly developed a special
control system for the Hywind turbine to address the special operating conditions of a floating structure. In particular, the advanced
control system takes advantage
of the turbine’s ability to dampen
out part of the wave-induced motions of the floating system.
64 Living Energy · Issue 1/ November 2009 · www.siemens.com/energy/living-energy
charging spots for electric vehicles
at various locations in Germany. The
focus will be on Berlin with 20 charging spots. The experience obtained
here will be integrated in the implementation of a larger infrastructure
for charging spots.
Siemens is already active in e-mobility
with its Corporate Technology department as well as in the Energy and
Industry sectors. E-mobility presents
special requirements for the electric
vehicles as well as the design of the
power grid infrastructure. Areas of
research include electric power generation and distribution, traffic and
energy management, intelligent electric meters, power electronics, software and sensors as well as the electric
motors and recovery and storage of
energy.
The Most Influential Woman in Power
Photos: Siemens
Hywind: offshore wind power production.
Siemens will be building a new production facility for wind turbines in
Hutchinson, Kansas. When the plant
goes into operation, the strong and
increasing demand for wind turbine
equipment in North and South America will be more effectively met.
The 300,000-square-foot Hutchinson
facility will produce nacelles, to be
used in the company’s reliable 2.3-MW
wind turbine product family. Initially,
the factory’s planned annual output
will be approximately 650 nacelles –
or 1,500 MW.
The USA have been identified as one
of the world’s fastest-growing wind
energy markets. Combined with the
recently opened rotor blade manufacturing facility in Fort Madison, Iowa,
Siemens is significantly strengthening
its US presence and increasing proximity to its customers there. These
expansions fit very well with political
developments under the Obama administration.
In addition to long-term plans for
clean energy production, there are
immediate steps for the introduction
of environmentally friendly technologies, the expansion of the power
grid, multiyear production tax credits,
and regulations to reduce CO2 emissions. With President Obama’s campaign promises of investing 150 billion
dollars over the next ten years in the
development of clean energy sources,
the prospects for success for the
new wind turbine facilities are very
promising indeed.
electric cars can be both charged as
well as discharged. It can thus serve
as an intermediate storage device
for electric power from fluctuating
generation sources like wind and solar.
Equipped with modern control systems, electric cars become an integral
mobile component of a stable power
grid and sustainable power supply.
Since the batteries in electric cars can
be charged at varying times, renewable energy subject to daily and seasonal fluctuation can be better exploited. This results in a more flexible
and environmentally compatible
entire energy system. In addition, electric cars use energy resources much
more efficiently than combustion
engines
Over the course of the cooperation
with RWE, Siemens will install 40
At this year’s 2nd annual Africa Energy
Awards, held in Johannesburg, South
Africa, earlier this year, Siemens’ Ute
Menikheim was recognized with the
“Most Influential Woman in Power”
award. The award was created to honor a woman who is an acknowledged
leader in the industry, who has a vision
for the power industry and is striving
to attain that goal, who faces the challenges of the energy head on, and
who believes in the empowerment of
women in the Africa power sector. Ute
Menikheim is truly the embodiment
of these characteristics. During her
four-year assignment as Divisional
Director of Instrumentation and Control for Siemens in South Africa, she
and her team not only emphasized
uncompromising quality and value for
their customers, but also advocated
the mentorship and on-the-job training of many local citizens. “We did
this not only to promote a healthy future for the energy industry in Africa,
but also to make a difference in the
lives of the people there,” says Menikheim. “I had a brilliant team in
South Africa, and this award belongs
to them, too. Step by step, we made
an impact on that country.”
Menikheim believes that the power
industry is “the most invigorating
sector – it plays a vital role in stimulating the economy and contributing
to an improved quality of life.” The
empowerment of women – providing
employment opportunities for them
beyond traditional menial work –
was, and still is, especially close to
Menikheim’s heart. “Women have the
ability to make a difference, and
I want to be an inspiration to all
women to show what can be achieved
through creativity and hard work.”
Ute Menikheim with her award.
Living Energy · Issue 1/ November 2009 · www.siemens.com/energy/living-energy
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In Short
In Short
Best in Test
Wind Power Facility
Buildings Opened
by Danish Prince Consort
Clean Power
from Africa
Together with other industry leaders, Siemens Energy
is participating in the Desertec initiative to provide
sustainable power based on renewables to Europe, the
Middle East and North Africa. A corresponding memorandum of understanding was signed for environmentally friendly power generation using solar thermal power plants in the Sahara and wind farms in
North Africa. The power generated is to be transported to the load centers where it is needed. A technical
and financial concept is being developed.
The potential is enormous. The earth’s desert regions
receive more energy in a mere six hours than the total
global consumption in an entire year. In the Sahara,
the sun shines 4,800 hours per year (roughly three
times more than in Germany) and provides the potential for clean solar power. Solar thermal power plants
covering an area of 300 by 300 kilometers could meet
worldwide energy needs. Countries such as Morocco
or Egypt also offer excellent potential for developing
wind power. The Desertec initiative aims to meet 15 to
20 percent of the European power demand using
solar- and wind-based electricity by 2050.
With all of the pomp and splendor of a royal visit, the
new buildings at the Siemens wind power plant facility
in Brande, Denmark, were opened on June 4 by his Royal
Highness Prince Henrik, the Prince Consort. Amid festivities marked by flags and high spirits, the distinguished visitor was present to inaugurate the new office
and canteen buildings.
Prince Henrik was welcomed by Andreas Nauen, CEO
of Siemens Wind Power, Kai-Eberhard Lueg, CFO of
Siemens Wind Power, and employees of the Brande facility.
The visit represented extensive preparations on the part
of many Siemens employees, with nothing left to chance.
During a brief tour of the production facility, the eminent guest was shown the inside of a wind turbine nacelle.
While touring the new canteen, Prince Henrik was clearly moved to see more than 500 employees waving flags
and giving him a standing ovation. The flags of many of
the 53 nations represented by the workforce at the headquarters in Brande were flown during the festivities,
demonstrating the tremendous cultural diversity within
Siemens Wind Power. When the red ribbon was cut to
mark the opening there was a drum solo and a cheer
from the employees.
At front from left: CFO of Siemens Wind Power
Kai-Eberhard Lueg, His Royal Highness Prince Henrik,
the Prince Consort, and CEO of Siemens Wind Power
Andreas Nauen at the opening of the new wind power
plant buildings in Brande, Denmark.
66 Living Energy · Issue 1/ November 2009 · www.siemens.com/energy/living-energy
Advanced High-Voltage
Power Line at Frankfurt Airport
Study Project Winners from
Singapore Visit Germany
On June 15, RWE Transportnetz Strom GmbH, based in Dortmund,
Germany, gave the go-ahead for the installation of a gas-insulated, extra-high-voltage transmission line (GIL) at Frankfurt Airport.
Siemens Energy is replacing a 1-kilometer-long high-voltage
overhead line with a buried, gas-insulated extra-high-voltage transmission line. Two GIL systems, with a transmission capacity of
about 1,800 MVA each, will connect a 380-kV transformer substation in the northwest of the airport that has already been constructed using Siemens’ compact gas-insulated switchgear.
Winners of the 2009 National Weather Study
Project (NWSP) in Singapore earned a trip
to Germany in July. NWSP was founded by
Senoko Power, a leading Siemens customer in
Singapore. Siemens Energy Sector Singapore
cosponsors the annual competition, which
aims to increase awareness among students
about the impact of climate change on the
environment. Participants prepare projects
that demonstrate how this problem could
be dealt with now and in the future. This year,
the popular event attracted 235 teams from
152 schools in Singapore. Winning projects
were chosen in primary school, high school
and college level categories.
Siemens Broadens
Environmental Portfolio
Photos: Siemens
Martin Mustermann
Desertec: an ambitious
plan for clean power on
a continental scale.
In April 2008, Siemens Energy opened one of the
world’s biggest test centers for large compressor
trains for use in the oil and gas industry. At a cost
of around 100 million euro, the Mega Test Center
in Duisburg, Germany (see photo, left) is currently
Siemens’ largest single investment in Europe.
“The test center strengthens Siemens’ position as
one of the leading suppliers on the growing oil and
gas market,” says Tom Blades, CEO of the Siemens
Oil & Gas Division. The first year of operation saw
comprehensive testing successfully completed on no
fewer than 25 compressor trains. These trains, comprising the complete steam and electric drive systems, massive multistage compressors and all
ancillaries can be as large as a good-sized house,
weigh in at many hundreds of tons and consume
enough energy to power a small town.
Singapore students touring Germany.
Siemens Energy has acquired the majority of Steinmüller Engineering GmbH (Gummersbach, Germany), a provider of engineering for innovative CO2- and NOx-reducing combustion technologies and exhaust-gas cleaning systems for fossil fuel power
plants. Steinmüller has a workforce of more than 60. Already
well established in the US marketplace with its Environmental
Systems and Service business, Siemens Energy is now expanding
its environmental presence to Europe. The company will retain
the name Steinmüller Engineering GmbH and continue to operate from its Gummersbach location.
Living Energy · Issue 1/ November 2009 · www.siemens.com/energy/living-energy
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In Short
In Short
Most Flexible and
Environmentally Friendly
Combined-Cycle Power
Plant for Rotterdam
Transformer with Biopetroleum
Usually, when we think of rapeseed
oil, it is in the context of salad dressing
or low-cholesterol cooking. Siemens,
however, has developed a hermetically
sealed power transformer with the
Not just a pretty face. Rapeseed
oil is now being used in advanced
electric transformers.
insulation fluid based on rapeseed oil.
This innovative development is especially interesting for customers who
not only place a value on the environmentally friendly production of power,
but on its transmission as well.
Modern power transformers are increasingly confronted by two challenges. First, they are designed to require low maintenance, and second,
they need to be environmentally
friendly. These two qualities have
been combined in a new power transformer produced by the Siemens
transformer factory in Dresden, Germany. The new device is filled with
a rapeseed oil-based ester fluid as its
insulator and is hermetically sealed.
Biodegradable materials are becomingly increasingly important for energy providers. However, this must
not come at the cost of performance,
resilience or durability. In the case
of the rapeseed oil-based ester em-
ployed by Siemens, the insulator fluid
provides combustion resistance superior to the mineral oils used in conventional devices. In addition, the fluid is completely biodegradable, with
no danger of water contamination.
The fluid demonstrates slower cellulose aging in comparison to mineral
oil. Which means longer lifetime for
the transformer. The device can also
be used in areas where fire protection
is technically difficult and can be
operated in areas with strict environmental controls. In addition to the
advantages of the rapeseed oil insulator, the hermetic encapsulation provides additional performance, security
and construction advantages.
Currently, the new transformer is
in operation in Teinach in the Black
Forrest. The goal is to optimize the
transformer on the basis of the knowledge gained here, especially with a
view toward broader commercial use.
Siemens Awarded the
Steel Innovation Prize
for New Turbine
Within the complex field of combined-cycle steam and turbine power
generation technology, one book has
stood apart as the standard reference:
Combined-Cycle Gas & Steam Turbine
Power Plants, edited by Rolf Kehlhofer
et al., has played a defining role and
influenced a generation of students,
engineers and developers.
For the third edition of this milestone
work, renowned Siemens innovator
Dr. Bert Rukes and his team have added their expertise in expanding and
revising the book. Their contribution
was to provide all of the content for a
number of chapters as well as collabo-
rating on most of the others.
Rukes, whose distinguished career
has seen him being recognized with
the prestigious Siemens Top Innovator Prize for outstanding innovations
in fossil fuel power plant solutions,
is proud to have been a part of the
project. He is especially satisfied that
Siemens technology is now being featured in this reference that will have
an important influence on the next
generation of students and engineers.
Rukes notes that during his many
years in the industry, this was the only
book that continually found itself in
his hands when he looked for a
68 Living Energy · Issue 1/ November 2009 · www.siemens.com/energy/living-energy
reference guide.
Combined-Cycle
Gas & Steam Turbine Power Plants
is unique in that it
doesn’t just provide a description
of a specific power
plant, but examines the underlying physical principles as well. This
equips the reader with the tools to
design a power plant. The book targets a global audience, and its intended readership consists of both students and engineers.
Photos: Martin
Photos:Mustermann
M. Ruckszio/Naturbildportal, Siemens
Innovator Coauthors Definitive Book
for Combined-Cycle Power Plants
For its innovative gas turbine type
SGT5-8000H, Siemens Energy was
awarded the special “Climate Protection with Steel” category of the Steel
Innovation Prize. The award-winning
turbine has a total weight of 440
tons and consists of about 95 percent steel. Despite its imposing size
and strength, the machine is not
just brute heavy metal, but a remarkable example of high technology
that brings an important contribution to global climate protection.
When combined with a steam turbine, the new gas turbine will set
a new world record for efficiency for
combined-cycle power plants. The
increased efficiency saves fuel, protects resources, and reduces CO2
emissions. The reduction in CO2
emissions is the equivalent of 10,000
mid-sized cars driving 20,000 kilometers per year.
The Steel Innovation Prize is awarded every three years by the Steel
Information Center of the German
steel industry. The new Siemens turbine uniquely combines conventional heavy-machine construction
Siemens Energy was
recently awarded
the Steel Innovation
Prize for its powerful, yet efficient and
environmentally
friendly SGT5-8000H
gas turbine (shown
above).
methods with ultramodern manufacturing technology. The turbine consists of more than 7,000 individual
parts ranging in size from minute
to mammoth. On its own, the SGT58000H can generate 375 MW of electrical power. When combined with
a steam turbine, this is increased to
over 570 MW, enough to power a city
of 3 million people, such as Berlin.
In addition to the Steel Innovation
Prize, Siemens’ operational SGT58000H power plant Irsching 4 near
Ingolstadt has been recognized as
a specially designated area by the
“Germany, Land of Ideas” initiative
under the auspices of German president Horst Koehler.
Siemens Energy is currently constructing one of Europe’s most environmentally friendly fossil-fired power plants in the Netherlands. The
state-of-the-art combined-cycle gas
turbine (CCGT) power plant, which
will be located in the Europoort area
of Rotterdam Harbor, was ordered by
Enecogen, a partnership of the Dutch
Eneco and Danish DONG Energy utilities. The 700-million-euro project,
which includes a long-term service
contract, is scheduled to go on line in
late 2011 with an output of about
870 MW.
Thanks to their modular design, plants
of this type offer more adaptability
to specific customer and site requirements. With NOx emissions of less
than 10 ppm and a plant efficiency of
more than 59 percent, the Enecogen
project will be one of Europe’s most efficient fossil fuel power plants in its
class. Due to the very competitive and
flexible project offering, Siemens
Energy Solutions had been chosen as
turnkey supplier. In addition to the
main components – gas turbine, steam
turbine and generator – Siemens will
also supply the entire electrical and
I&C systems and handle long-term
plant maintenance. The Enecogen partners see the use of high-efficient and
flexible gas-fired power plants and gas
storage as a means to balance the
more volatile wind power production.
Signing ceremony for the new CCGT project.
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